I was in Avila Beach on Monday through Wednesday this week and decided that I would at least exercise one of those day. The only day I could walk was Tuesday night. I left work around 5:15 p.m. and went back to the hotel to change into my exercise gear. It turned out I forgot to bring my fanny pack, so I had to carry my water bottle in one hand and the hotel key in the other. I walked on the Bob Jones trail but didn’t have a watch, so I had to estimate my distance in terms of blocks, making 12 blocks into one mile… therefore one mile forward and one mile back to thr hotel in time to meet a co-worker for dinner.

It took me 45 minutes to do the entire walk, so I’m really hoping I walked more than 2 miles!!! Right now, I can only say that I walked to the “big tree past the vista point” and back, but hopefully next month, I’ll return with my pedometer to figure out the actual distance. My calves hurt a little bit, but I tried to ignore it. By the time I was almost done, the pain went away. As it was one of hotter night of the year, I drank all my water.

No one ever goes to the gym and regrets it. Why do I not go more often? <sigh> I arrived very late tonight, but at least I showed up.

2 minutes walking at 3.0 mph, followed by 1 minute of jogging at 4.5 mph for 1.5 miles which took me 26:36. You might not be impressed, but I am. I’m carrying an extra 75 lbs. on me. More impressed now?

Planning is the easiest part, right? Seems like I did nothing for two months after I signed up for the Awesome 80’s Run, so I know I need to get a move on it, no pun intended. I have six weeks to train for a 10k, and there are plenty of plans online that I can follow. Here’s what I’m planning to do:

Week

Sun

Mon

Tues

Wed

Thur

Fri

Sat

1

Rest

30 min walk

Rest

30 min walk

30 min walk

Rest

45 min walk

2

Rest

35 min walk

Rest

35 min walk

35 min walk

Rest

55 min walk

3

Rest

40 min walk

Rest

40 min walk

40 min walk

Rest

65 min walk

4

Rest

45 min walk

Rest

45 min walk

45 min walk

Rest

75 min walk

5

Rest

50 min walk

Rest

50 min walk

50 min walk

Rest

80 min walk

6

Rest

55 min walk

Rest

30 min walk

30 min walk

Rest

Race day

I’m also going to start bringing lunch to work. I’ve been eating out every day for the past four years, and the result is consistent weight gain. Let’s see how this goes…